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Washington County veterans service officer reports rise in walk‑ins, highlights long appeals backlog
Summary
The county veterans service officer presented a 2024 year‑in‑review showing roughly 2,700 claim actions, 510 in‑person appointments, rising walk‑ins and concerns about decade‑long delays at the Court of Veterans Appeals; staff also flagged local transportation gaps to VA care.
Kurt (last name not specified), Washington County veterans service officer, told the Healthy New Reserves Committee on March that his 2024 year‑in‑review shows about 2,700 “claim actions” and 510 in‑person appointments, and that walk‑ins have increased since the office moved into the human services area.
The report, delivered during the committee’s agenda item on veterans services, noted 209 new veterans who entered the office last year, an average call volume of about 21 calls per day, and a spike in visits around Memorial Day and Veterans Day. “I was startled by the amount of walk ins that we have,” Kurt said, adding that May and the period before November show the largest increases.
Why it matters: the numbers suggest steady demand for benefits help and potential capacity limits for in‑person appointments. Kurt provided an estimated maximum capacity based on a schedule of three to four appointments per day; he cautioned that other meetings and duties reduce that theoretical maximum.
Kurt also flagged a structural delay for veterans appeals. He said claims referred to the Court of Veterans Appeals can take “almost 10 years” to reach that stage, a lag he described as “shocking and terrible” for veterans awaiting final decisions.
The report highlighted a state property tax credit that helped 55 people avoid possible foreclosure or displacement by reimbursing property taxes. Kurt urged the committee to note the direct constituent impact of that benefit.
Committee members and staff discussed transportation and service delivery in the county. Kurt and other speakers contrasted the number of rides to the VA provided last year by Interfaith Caregivers of Washington County — 980 rides, according to the presentation — with roughly 104 rides provided by a separate agency identified in the meeting as the county’s block‑grant recipient. Kurt said the county has raised the discrepancy with the state veterans office and is tracking a possible state budget allocation to address transportation gaps.
Kurt briefly updated the committee on ongoing projects: the Civil War monument committee is auditing remaining work and fundraising needs; GuitarStar/Guitar for Vets now has five instructors and two people on a waiting list; and several local programs are being discussed for possible state‑level scaling.
The committee thanked Kurt for the report. No formal action or vote was taken on the presentation.
